1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display device and a method of fabricating the same. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for reducing a fabrication time of the liquid crystal display device, and preventing a short circuit between a common electrode of an upper substrate and a drive circuit of a lower substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display device controls the light transmittance of liquid crystal by use of electric field, thereby displaying a picture. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device in the related art. The liquid crystal display device includes a thin film transistor array substrate 70 and a color filter array substrate 80 with a liquid crystal 50 therebetween, as shown in FIG. 1. The thin film transistor array substrate 70 includes a gate line 2 and a data line 4 which cross each other on a lower substrate 1; a thin film transistor 30 formed at the crossing of the gate line 2 and the data line 4; a pixel electrode 22 connected to the thin film transistor 30; a lower alignment film (not shown) on the pixel electrode 22 for aligning the liquid crystal 50. The color filter array substrate 80 includes a black matrix formed on an upper substrate 11 for preventing light leakage; a color filter 12 for realizing color images; a common electrode 14 for forming a vertical electric field with the pixel electrode 22 of the thin film transistor array substrate 70; and an upper alignment film (not shown) on the common electrode 14.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cross-section of the lower substrate having a silver dot for supplying a common voltage to a common electrode shown in FIG. 1. A silver dot 10 for supplying a common voltage to the common electrode 14 is formed outside of a sealant 16, as shown in FIG. 2. The silver dot 10 is deposited in a paste state between the thin film transistor array substrate 70 and the color filter array substrate 80, and then the two substrates 70 and 80 are bonded together with the sealant 16. As a result, the silver dot 10 spreads out due to pressure applied to the substrates 70 and 80 when bonding the substrates.
To prevent the spread out silver dot 10 from being damaged by a subsequent scribing process, the silver dot must be formed well away from a scribing line. Several silver dots 6 for uniformly supplying a common voltage to the common electrode 14 are provided around the edges of the liquid crystal display panel. Because each of the silver dots must be formed well away from a scribing line, a lot of panel area around the edges of the liquid crystal display panel is wasted. Thus. panel area is not efficiently used, which increases fabrication costs.
To supply signals to the gate line 2 and the data line 4 provided on the thin film transistor array substrate 70, the liquid crystal display device also includes a gate driver and a data driver. The gate driver and the data driver are divided into a plurality of integrated circuits (hereinafter, referred to as ‘IC’) that are made as chips. Each of the drive IC chips are mounted in an opened IC area on a TCP (tape carrier package) or mounted on a TCP base film by a COF (chip on film) method, and is electrically connected to the liquid crystal display panel by a TAB (tape automated bonding) method. In this way, a fabricating method of the liquid crystal display device of the related art includes a process of separately fabricating the drive IC and bonding the drive IC chips to the liquid crystal display panel through a TCP. The bonding of the drive IC chips is complicated and increases the manufacturing cost of the liquid crystal display device.